A Forney, Texas woman with ties to Liberty County has been charged with robbing the two Sonic Drive-In restaurants in Liberty and Dayton. Reshonda Walker, 41, is in the Liberty County Jail, facing a charge of Aggravated Robbery and other charges pending.
On Monday, Aug. 27, around 6:15 p.m., Liberty police responded to the Sonic Drive-In located at 1821 US 90 where a carhop reportedly was robbed at knifepoint by a black female driving a black Kia Soul.
“The suspect had left the scene, but we were able to view surveillance video to obtain a license plate and vehicle description. We put that out on radio broadcast to other law enforcement and later that evening she was stopped in Dayton,” said Lt. Chip Fairchild, a spokesperson for Liberty Police Department.
After Walker’s arrest, it was discovered that she had outstanding warrants for Larceny and Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in Forney, so police were able to hold her in custody while they continued their investigation for the robbery.
“Since that time, we have been working on getting search warrants for her vehicle and have been working with Dayton, which had a similar burglary on Aug. 24, and Crosby, which also has a similar case,” Fairchild said. “We will be shoring up our case today and expect to charge her with Aggravated Robbery in the next day or two. We are continuing to work with other agencies. We are just making sure all the Is are dotted and all the Ts are crossed.”
The Aggravated Robbery charged currently placed on Walker stems from the Dayton robbery, in which the suspect reportedly brandished a firearm while robbing a Sonic Drive-In car hop. Sgt. John Coleman, spokesperson for Dayton Police Department, says his department obtained the warrant for her arrest yesterday.
Like the Liberty case, Dayton PD also had surveillance video from the Sonic Drive-In at 207 W US 90. Coleman said Walker is “very recognizable” as the same suspect.
“Not only was she very recognizable, it appears she had the same clothes on – a pink shirt and white shoes,” he said.
One difference between the cases is the vehicle description. Coleman said it appears she may have been driving a silver or light blue vehicle for the Dayton robbery. That vehicle has not been recovered.
“We are still planning to do a photo lineup with the victims,” Coleman said. “She has been charged but it’s an ongoing investigation.”
Liberty PD has the vehicle in which she was arrested in its custody. Fairchild said they hope to find the weapons reportedly used in the crimes inside the vehicle. He also confirmed a report that the vehicle appears to have bullet holes in its exterior.
“There are bullet holes in the vehicle but they don’t appear to be related to these two incidents,” he said.
Walker’s arrest is being credited to Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Corey Prantil who spotted her vehicle as it traveled through Dayton heading west on US 90. Prantil followed the vehicle and was joined by Dayton police officers Kristen Seibert, Brian Chowns and Greg Rodriguez, and Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputy Mendoza who assisted Prantil in stopping the vehicle in front of Best Western hotel on US 90 West.
Walker and two male subjects were in the vehicle during the traffic stop. Fairchild said it appears that neither of the males were involved in the alleged crimes.
Bond information for Walker is not available at this time. If convicted, each first-degree felony Aggravated Robbery charge carries a penalty of 5-99 years in state prison, and/or a fine of no more than $10,000.
By Vanesa Brashier, editor@bluebonnetnews.com